Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35924888›Full record

ArticleJournal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)2022

Antidepressant effects of a psychedelic experience in a large prospective naturalistic sample.

Victoria Amalie Nygart, Lis Marie Pommerencke, Eline Haijen, Hannes Kettner, Mendel Kaelen, Erik Lykke Mortensen, David John Nutt, Robin Lester Carhart-Harris, David Erritzoe

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Observational
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Psychedelics for Depression: Between Hopes and Uncertainties.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2025
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Therapeutic mechanisms of psychedelics and entactogens.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Peer support and psychedelics.Journal of military, veteran and family health · 2023
    Article
  20. UNRAVELing the synergistic effects of psilocybin and environment on brain-wide immediate early gene expression in mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Victoria Amalie NygartDivision of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Centers for Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-0001-2744
Lis Marie PommerenckeNational Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Eline HaijenDivision of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Centers for Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Hannes KettnerDivision of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Centers for Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9482-0998
Mendel KaelenDivision of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Centers for Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Erik Lykke MortensenDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
David John NuttDivision of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Centers for Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Robin Lester Carhart-HarrisDivision of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Centers for Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6062-7150
David ErritzoeDivision of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Centers for Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-7022-6211

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOver the last two decades, a number of studies have highlighted the potential of psychedelic therapy. However, questions remain to what extend these results translate to naturalistic samples, and how contextual factors and the acute psychedelic experience relate to improvements in affective symptoms following psychedelic experiences outside labs/clinics. The present study sought to address this knowledge gap.

aimHere, we aimed to investigate changes in anxiety and depression scores before versus after psychedelic experiences in naturalistic contexts, and how various pharmacological, extrapharmacological and experience factors related to outcomes.

methodIndividuals who planned to undergo a psychedelic experience were enrolled in this online survey study. Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and 2 and 4 weeks post-psychedelic experience, with self-rated Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS-SR-16) as the primary outcome. To facilitate clinical translation, only participants with depressive symptoms at baseline were included. Sample sizes for the four time points were

resultsRelative to baseline, reductions in depressive symptoms were observed at 2 and 4 weeks. A medicinal motive, previous psychedelic use, drug dose and the type of acute psychedelic experience (i.e. specifically, having an emotional breakthrough) were all significantly associated with changes in self-rated QIDS-SR-16.

conclusionThese results lend support to therapeutic potential of psychedelics and highlight the influence of pharmacological and non-pharmacological factors in determining response. Mindful of a potential sample and attrition bias, further controlled and observational longitudinal studies are needed to test the replicability of these findings.

Indexed as

HallucinogensAntidepressive AgentsEmotionsHumansProspective StudiesPsilocybinAntidepressive AgentsHallucinogensPsilocybinanxietydepressionmystical experiencepsilocybinPsychedelics

Identifiers

PMID35924888
PMCPMC9353970

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.